I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8547 

To direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish 

a universal design standards certification system and to establish a 

refundable tax credit for individuals and groups that construct or renovate buildings and residences, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 23, 2024 

Mr. NEGUSE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 

to establish a universal design standards certification 

system and to establish a refundable tax credit for individuals and groups that construct or renovate buildings 

and residences, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Universal Design 

5 Standard Tax Incentive Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CERTIFICATION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

3 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of 

4 Housing and Urban Development, in coordination with the 

5 head of each covered agency, shall establish a certification 

6 system through which an owner of a dwelling unit or a 

7 commercial unit may have such unit certified by the Sec8 retary as meeting the universal design standards. 

9 (b) WORKING GROUP.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, not 

11 later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 

12 this section establish a universal design working 

13 group. 

14 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The working group estab15 lished under paragraph (1) shall be made up of— 

16 (A) staff from Federal agencies, including 

17 from— 

18 (i) the Department of Agriculture; 

19 (ii) the Department of Veterans Af20 fairs; 

21 (iii) the Federal Housing Finance 

22 Agency; and 

23 (iv) the Department of Health and 

24 Human Services; 

25 (B) community partners, including— 

26 (i) the AARP; 


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1 (ii) the National Council on Aging; 

2 (iii) the Universal Design Project; 

3 (iv) the Centers for Independent Liv4 ing; 

5 (v) Certified Aging-in-Place Special6 ists; and 

7 (vi) the National Disability Rights 

8 Network. 

9 (C) academic partners; 

10 (D) industry partners; 

11 (E) health professionals, including occupa12 tional therapists; and 

13 (F) individuals with lived experience of dis14 ability. 

15 (3) DUTIES.—The working group established 

16 by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (1) shall— 

17 (A) establish universal design standards 

18 that comply with the requirements described in 

19 subsection (c) and issue such updates of such 

20 standards as the working group determines ap21 propriate; 

22 (B) establish a timeline for the certifi23 cation process described in subsection (d); 


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1 (C) provide recommendations to the Sec2 retary on the licensing process described in sub3 section (f); and 

4 (D) make a recommendation to the Sec5 retary of the Treasury for regulations to deter6 mine which buildings renovations are sufficient 

7 to qualify for the tax credit established under 

8 section 3. 

9 (c) STANDARDS.—The universal design standards es10 tablished by the working group described in subsection (b) 

11 shall— 

12 (1) ensure that each certified dwelling unit or 

13 commercial unit— 

14 (A) is useful and marketable to people with 

15 diverse abilities; 

16 (B) accommodates a range of individual 

17 preferences and abilities; 

18 (C) is designed to provide information to 

19 residents and visitors with varying sensory abili20 ties; 

21 (D) is designed in a manner that mini22 mizes hazards and the adverse consequences of 

23 accidental or unintended actions; 

24 (E) is designed in a manner that is simple 

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1 ence, knowledge, language skills, and concentra2 tion level of the user; 

3 (F) is designed in a manner to allow for 

4 efficient and comfortable use with minimum fa5 tigue; and 

6 (G) provides appropriate space for ap7 proach, reach, manipulation, and use of all as8 pects of the unit regardless of the body size, 

9 posture, or mobility of the resident or visitor to 

10 the dwelling unit; 

11 (2) require, at a minimum, that certified dwell12 ing units and commercial units comply with the 

13 ‘‘ADA Standards for Accessible Design’’; and 

14 (3) be updated not later than 5 years from the 

15 date of establishment of such standards, and every 

16 5 years thereafter, to reflect any changes in needs 

17 of residents or visitors and any changes in tech18 nology. 

19 (d) CERTIFICATION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—If an owner of a dwelling 

21 unit or commercial unit wants such unit to be cer22 tified by the Secretary as complying the universal 

23 design standards, such owner shall submit an appli24 cation for certification to the Secretary at such time 

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1 ably require and such application shall include such 

2 information as is necessary for the Secretary to con3 firm such unit is compliant with the universal design 

4 standards. 

5 (2) VERIFICATION.—All information in any ap6 plication submitted to the Secretary pursuant to 

7 paragraph (1) shall be verified by a licensed inspec8 tor, at the cost of the owner of the dwelling unit or 

9 commercial unit unless such licensed inspector 

10 agrees to provide such inspection on a cost-free 

11 basis. 

12 (3) CERTIFICATION OF MULTI-UNIT BUILD13 INGS.— 

14 (A) BUILDINGS WITH 1 TO 4 UNITS.—With 

15 respect to a building containing 1 to 4 dwelling 

16 units or commercial units, the property may be 

17 certified as accessible if all common areas and 

18 all units in the building comply with the uni19 versal design standards. 

20 (B) BUILDINGS WITH 5 OR MORE UNITS.— 

21 With respect to a building containing 5 or more 

22 dwelling units or commercial units, the property 

23 may be certified as accessible if all common 

24 areas in the building comply with the universal 

25 design standards and not less than 50 percent 


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1 of all the units in the building comply with the 

2 universal design standards. 

3 (4) LABEL.—If the licensed inspector deter4 mines that the dwelling unit meets the universal de5 sign standards, the owner of the dwelling unit or 

6 commercial unit may use the universal design label 

7 established by the Secretary pursuant to subsection 

8 (e) when marketing such dwelling unit or commer9 cial unit to potential tenants and buyers. 

10 (5) RE-CERTIFICATION.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—An owner of a dwelling 

12 unit or commercial unit certified under this sec13 tion shall have such unit re-certified before the 

14 date that is 10 years after the date of the most 

15 recent certification to continue using the label 

16 established pursuant to subsection (e) when 

17 marketing such unit. 

18 (B) RENOVATION.—If a unit certified 

19 under this section is renovated, the owner of 

20 such unit shall reapply for certification under 

21 this section before using the label established 

22 pursuant to subsection (e) when marketing such 

23 unit. 

24 (C) OWNERSHIP CHANGE.—If ownership of 

25 a dwelling unit or commercial unit certified 


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1 under this section changes, the new owner of 

2 such unit may not use the label established pur3 suant to subsection (e) when marketing such 

4 unit until such new owner has such unit re-cer5 tified. 

6 (e) UNIVERSAL DESIGN LABEL.—— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

8 a label that is designed to identify a dwelling unit 

9 or commercial unit as having been certified by the 

10 Secretary as complying with the universal design 

11 standards. 

12 (2) PUBLIC AWARENESS.—The Secretary, in co13 ordination with the head of each covered agency, 

14 shall work to increase public awareness of the label 

15 established pursuant to paragraph (1), including by 

16 providing special outreach to small business owners 

17 who are licensed as a professional engineer or reg18 istered architect in any State. 

19 (f) LICENSING OF INSPECTORS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall issue li21 censes to inspectors to verify the information in any 

22 application submitted to the Secretary pursuant to 

23 subsection (d). 

24 (2) TERMINATION OF LICENSE.—The Secretary 

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1 spector is found to have incorrectly certified 2 or 

2 more dwelling units or commercial units during any 

3 2-year period. 

4 (3) FALSIFICATION.—If an inspector licensed 

5 by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (1) is found 

6 by the Secretary to have falsified information with 

7 respect to any application submitted under this sec8 tion, the Secretary may pursue recourse under Fed9 eral law and any applicable State or Territorial li10 censing laws. 

11 SEC. 3. UNIVERSAL DESIGN STANDARD TAX CREDIT. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart B of part IV of sub13 chapter A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amend14 ed by adding at the end the following new section: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 30E. UNIVERSAL DESIGN STANDARD CREDIT. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be allowed as a cred17 it against the tax imposed by this chapter a credit in an 

18 amount equal to the sum of— 

19 ‘‘(1) 20 percent of the qualified universal design 

20 expenses of the taxpayer for the taxable year that 

21 are attributable to design or construction of a new 

22 building, plus 

23 ‘‘(2) 50 percent of the qualified universal design 

24 expenses of the taxpayer for the taxable year that 


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1 are attributable to renovation of an existing build2 ing. 

3 ‘‘(b) QUALIFIED UNIVERSAL DESIGN EXPENSES.— 

4 For purposes of this section, the term ‘qualified universal 

5 design expenses’ means amounts paid or incurred with re6 spect to a building certified under section 2(d) of the Uni7 versal Design Standard Tax Incentive Act during the tax8 able year for design, construction, or renovations of such 

9 building performed in order to receive such certification. 

10 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULES.— 

11 ‘‘(1) BASIS REDUCTION.—For purposes of this 

12 subtitle, the basis of any property for which a credit 

13 is allowable under this section shall be reduced by 

14 the amount of such credit so allowed. 

15 ‘‘(2) NO DOUBLE BENEFIT.—No other credit or 

16 deduction shall be allowed under this chapter for 

17 amounts with respect to which a credit is allowed 

18 under this section. 

19 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION WITH OTHER CREDITS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) BUSINESS CREDIT TREATED AS PART

21 OF GENERAL BUSINESS CREDIT.—So much of 

22 the credit which would be allowed under sub23 section (a) for any taxable year (determined 

24 without regard to this subsection) that is attrib25 utable to property of a character subject to an 


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1 allowance for depreciation shall be treated as a 

2 credit listed in section 38(b) for such taxable 

3 year (and not allowed under subsection (a)). 

4 ‘‘(B) CREDIT MADE REFUNDABLE FOR IN5 DIVIDUALS.—In the case of an individual, the 

6 credit allowed under subsection (a) shall be 

7 treated as a credit allowed under subpart C and 

8 not as a credit allowed under this subpart. 

9 ‘‘(4) NO MEDICAL DOCUMENTATION RE10 QUIRED.—The Secretary may not require any person 

11 to submit any medical documentation in order to be 

12 allowed a credit under subsection (a).’’. 

13 (b) CREDIT INCLUDED IN GENERAL BUSINESS

14 CREDIT.—Section 38(b) is amended by striking ‘‘plus’’ at 

15 the end of paragraph (40), by striking the period at the 

16 end of paragraph (41) and inserting a comma, and by add17 ing at the end the following new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(42) the portion of the universal design stand19 ard credit to which section 30E(c)(3)(A) applies.’’. 

20 (c) BASIS ADJUSTMENT.—Section 1016(a) of such 

21 Code is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para22 graph (37), by striking the period at the end of paragraph 

23 (38) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding at the end the 

24 following new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(39) to the extent provided in section 

2 30E(C)(1).’’. 

3 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

4 for subpart B of part IV of subchapter A of such Code 

5 is amended by adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 30E. Universal design standard credit.’’. 

6 (e) OUTREACH.—The Secretary of the Treasury and 

7 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall 

8 carry out an outreach campaign to make the public aware 

9 of the credit established by the amendments made by this 

10 section. 

11 (f) REPORT.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall 

12 annually publish on the website of the Department of the 

13 Treasury an analysis of the total number of taxpayers 

14 claiming the credit established by section 30E of such 

15 Code and the aggregate value of credits allowed under 

16 such section for the most recent calendar year. 

17 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

18 this section shall apply to buildings constructed or ren19 ovated after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

20 SEC. 4. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

21 (a) BRIEFING.—Not later than 5 years after the date 

22 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in conjunction 

23 with the Commissioner, shall brief the appropriate con24 gressional committees on the progress of the bill as meas25 ured by the increase of the Nation’s accessible housing 


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1 stock and number of individuals that applied for the cred2 it. 

3 (b) FIRST REPORT ON ACCESSIBLE HOUSING.—Not 

4 later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 

5 the Secretary, in conjunction with the Commissioner, shall 

6 submit to the appropriate congressional committees a re7 port that— 

8 (1) summarizes and evaluates the implementa9 tion of such tax credit and the impact of the United 

10 States increasing it’s accessible housing supply for 

11 people with disabilities and senior citizens; 

12 (2) describes the nature and extent of the co13 ordination among the relevant Federal departments 

14 and agencies on the implementation of such strat15 egy; 

16 (3) outlines the monitoring and evaluation 

17 tools, mechanisms, and common indicators to assess 

18 progress made on increase of the Nation’s accessible 

19 housing stock; and 

20 (4) provides recommendations for improving the 

21 program and credit. 

22 (c) SECOND REPORT ON ACCESSIBLE HOUSING.— 

23 Not later than 10 years after the date of enactment of 

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1 sioner, shall submit to the appropriate congressional com2 mittees a report that— 

3 (1) summarizes and evaluates the implementa4 tion of such tax credit and the impact of United 

5 States’ increasing it’s accessible housing supply for 

6 people with disabilities and senior citizens; 

7 (2) describes the nature and extent of the co8 ordination among the relevant Federal departments 

9 and agencies on the implementation of such strat10 egy; 

11 (3) outlines the monitoring and evaluation 

12 tools, mechanisms, and common indicators to assess 

13 progress made on increase of the Nation’s accessible 

14 housing stock; and 

15 (4) provides recommendations for improving the 

16 program and credit. 

17 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

18 In this Act: 

19 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Agency’’ refers to the 

20 Internal Revenue Service. 

21 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT22 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com23 mittees’’ includes to be provided. 


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1 (3) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commis2 sioner’’ refers to the Commissioner of the Internal 

3 Revenue Service. 

4 (4) COVERED AGENCY.—The term ‘‘covered 

5 agency’’ means— 

6 (A) the Department of Agriculture; 

7 (B) the Department of Veterans Affairs; 

8 (C) the Federal Housing Finance Agency; 

9 and 

10 (D) the Department of Health and Human 

11 Services, including— 

12 (i) the Administration for Community 

13 Living; and 

14 (ii) the Centers for Disease Control 

15 and Prevention. 

16 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ refers 

17 to Secretary of the Department of Housing and 

18 Urban Development. 

19 (6) UNIVERSAL DESIGN STANDARDS.—The 

20 term ‘‘universal design standards’’ refers to the 

21 standards established pursuant to section 2(c) that 

22 ensure environments, products, and services are ac23 cessible and usable by people of all abilities, disabil24 ities, and ages. 

Æ 


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